Contemporary Chinese Art Collection (Flowers and Birds Volume 2)

Author: Guo Yizhu, Editor-in-Chief
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2006-02-01
Features: Contemporary Chinese flower-and-bird painting has emerged from the contradiction between inheriting and transforming ancient flower-and-bird painting. On one hand, it inherits the aesthetic tradition of ancient Chinese painting as a whole, with more direct inspiration from the styles of the Ming and Qing dynasties, and is driven by the cultural background of the 20th century, leading to numerous variations in its aesthetic character. On the other hand, the major influences on it are first and foremost political changes and corresponding ideological revolutions, as well as a sociocultural factor—the impact of Western learning. The Western tide not only created a coexistence of Chinese and Western art in Chinese art as a whole but also provided flower-and-bird painting with an additional channel for integrating Western techniques. From the perspective of style, contemporary flower-and-bird painting is a new landscape where the creative transformation of the three traditional styles—freehand brushwork, semi-ink-and-paint, and meticulous brushwork—coexists with new styles born from the application of Western learning.
The Xinhai Revolution of the early 20th century overthrew the imperial system, marking the end of literati flower-and-bird painting, which was the mainstream form of late feudal society. The massive social changes of the 1950s ushered in a new era of flower-and-bird painting dedicated to praising the spirit of the times and using popular aesthetic consciousness as the standard for art. The Cultural Revolution brought near-total devastation to flower-and-bird painting. The new era of reform and opening up, however, allowed flower-and-bird painting to achieve unprecedented individual expression and linguistic freedom. During this period, the historical transformation of literati freehand brushwork achieved remarkable results; the semi-ink-and-paint style underwent renewal, with masters emerging in each generation; the meticulous brushwork style connected with the Song Dynasty and was revived once again; and the new style that integrated Chinese and Western techniques became the trend of the time. The coexistence and complementarity of these various styles have created a diverse landscape and outstanding achievements in contemporary Chinese flower-and-bird painting, unparalleled in any other period in history.
The Complete Collection of Contemporary Chinese Art: Flower-and-Bird Volume is divided into two volumes and is organized in chronological order by the birth years of the artists. It includes 681 works by 62 influential artists active in the contemporary art scene. From this collection, one can glimpse the highest level and overall style of contemporary flower-and-bird painting, as well as fully understand the artistic characteristics and individual creativity of each artist. It holds significant value for academic research and promoting the development of flower-and-bird painting.